Burning Man Rethinks Its Legal Ownership of Your Photos

With the annual Burning Man celebration of art and self-expression four months away, its organizers are taking a second look at their Draconian photo and video policies.

As it is now, the Burning Man Organization requires ticket purchasers to assign to the group the legal rights of photos and video taken at the festival.

That grants the festival the legal standing to order the removal of images taken at the Black Rock City when they appear online. Burning Man’s organizers say this is so they can control how the content is used commercially. They also require commercial users to let the organization review and approve any photos or video in advance.

It “affords an opportunity to monitor for uses of footage and imagery that are exploitative of participant privacy or artists’ rights, or are overtly commercial in nature,” says the organization, on its website.

But the policy has been controversial. “We understand the real challenges BMO faces in trying to preserve its noncommercial, community character,” Corynne McSherry, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote in a blog post on Friday. “That said, a benevolent censor is still a censor, and if other event organizers follow suit, assignment and abrogation of rights could become standard Terms of (Ab)use in all ticket contracts.”